Little Grebe

Tachybaptus ruficollis

The Little Grebe, also known as Dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds. At 23 to 29 cm in length it is the smallest European member of its family. It is commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range.
Little grebe juvenile - Tachybaptus ruficollis Animalia,Aves,Chordata,Europe,Geotagged,Klaipeda apskritis,Lithuania,Little Grebe,Little grebe,Nemunas Delta,Podicipedidae,Podicipediformes,Summer,Tachybaptus ruficollis,Wildlife

Appearance

The Little Grebe is a small water bird with a pointed bill. The adult is unmistakable in summer, predominantly dark above with its rich, rufous colour neck, cheeks and flanks, and bright yellow gape. The rufous is replaced by a dirty brownish grey in non-breeding and juvenile birds.

Juvenile birds have a yellow bill with a small black tip, and black and white streaks on the cheeks and sides of the neck as seen below. This yellow bill darkens as the juveniles age, eventually turning black once in adulthood.

In winter, its size, buff plumage, with a darker back and cap, and “powder puff” rear end enable easy identification of this species. The Little Grebe's breeding call, given singly or in duet, is a trilled repeated "weet-weet-weet" or "wee-wee-wee" which sounds like a horse whinnying.
enjoying by bath Geotagged,Little Grebe,Spring,Tachybaptus ruficollis,United Kingdom

Distribution

This bird breeds in small colonies in heavily vegetated areas of freshwater lakes across Europe, much of Asia down to New Guinea, and most of Africa. Most birds move to more open or coastal waters in winter, but it is only migratory in those parts of its range where the waters freeze. Outside of breeding season, it moves into more open water, occasionally even appearing on the coast in small bays.
Little grebe - Tachybaptus ruficollis A few days ago during my short stay in Greece, I visited for a couple of hours the Kalochori lagoon, part of the Axios Delta National Park. The Axios Delta National Park is a haven for wildlife and a dream for birders. In a wetland complex of 340 square kilometers, the deltas of the rivers Axios and Aliakmon, the estuaries of the Gallikos and Loudias rivers, and the wetlands of Nea Agathoupoli and Alyki Kitrous create a broad biodiversity. A great variety of mammals, reptiles, amphibians and, very notably, more than 300 species of birds. For 2 hours I managed to photograph a few bird species still not added to JD from Greece. This is one of them. Animal,Animalia,Aves,Bird,Chordata,Geotagged,Greece,Kalochori lagoon,Little Grebe,Little grebe,Podicipedidae,Podicipediformes,Tachybaptus ruficollis,Wildlife,Winter

Behavior

The Little Grebe is an excellent swimmer and diver and pursues its fish and aquatic invertebrate prey underwater. It uses the vegetation skilfully as a hiding place.

Like all grebes, it nests at the water's edge, since its legs are set very far back and it cannot walk well. Usually four to seven eggs are laid. When the adult bird leaves the nest it usually takes care to cover the eggs with weeds. This makes it less likely to be detected by predators. The young leave the nest and can swim soon after hatching, and chicks are often carried on the backs of the swimming adults. In India, the species breeds during the rainy season.

It does not normally interbreed with the larger grebes in the Old World, but a bird in Cornwall mated with a vagrant North American Pied-billed Grebe, producing hybrid young.

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